Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N7/00—Television systems
  • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
  • H04N7/167—Systems rendering the television signal unintelligible and subsequently intelligible
  • H04N7/171—Systems operating in the amplitude domain of the television signal
  • H04N7/1716—Systems operating in the amplitude domain of the television signal by inverting the polarity of active picture signal portions
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N7/00—Television systems
  • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
  • H04N7/167—Systems rendering the television signal unintelligible and subsequently intelligible
  • H04N7/1675—Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N7/00—Television systems
  • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
  • H04N7/167—Systems rendering the television signal unintelligible and subsequently intelligible
  • H04N7/171—Systems operating in the amplitude domain of the television signal
  • H04N7/1713—Systems operating in the amplitude domain of the television signal by modifying synchronisation signals

Definitions

• This invention relates to a scrambling and descrambling method and apparatus for a subscription television system that provides compatibility within the system with other already installed equipment using a different method and apparatus for scrambling and descrambling television pictures.
• Subscription television systems serve customers on a paid subscription basis.
• a single cable TV system may have thousands of subscribers, each of which pays a monthly service charge, the amount of which depends upon how many and which television channels the subscriber pays to receive. It is necessary therefore for a cable system operator to be able to restrict access on a subscriber-by-subscriber basis to various of the TV channels broadcast within the system.
• Access by a subscriber to the various channels available in a cable TV system is controlled by means of respective subscriber terminal addresses and access codes sent to each subscriber terminal from a central office over the cable along with the television signals.
• Each subscriber location is provided by the cable operator with a special subscription TV receiver (subscriber terminal) , each with a unique address, that is normally leased to the customer on a monthly basis.
• the receiver is owned and controlled by the cable TV operator.
• the cable TV operator typically uses not only subscriber terminal address and channel access codes, but also employs some kind of proprietary coding system for scrambling and descrambling the actual television pictures within each of the channels.
• the picture of each TV channel is individually scrambled at a central office at the sending end and then individually descrambled by a special receiver at each subscriber location.
• Each receiver receives from the central office coded data signals which instruct the respective receiver to descramble (or not) those TV channels for which access is authorized (or not) .
• coded data signals which instruct the respective receiver to descramble (or not) those TV channels for which access is authorized (or not) .
• the present invention provides an economical and highly effective solution to this need by providing a unique scrambling and descrambling system which establishes compatibility between different previously installed equipment and modes of operation without the need to modify or control that equipment.
• the present invention in one of its aspects, provides an overall sync suppression and video inversion (SSAVI) scrambling and descrambling system for subscription television, such as a cable TV system.
• SSAVI sync suppression and video inversion
• the invention insures full compatibility with previous scrambling and descrambling equipment already installed throughout a subscription TV system.
• the previous equipment may have been made by a different or first manufacturer and may operate with a secret, proprietary coding and decoding method not recognized by other equipment. Another or second manufacturer has no control over or prior knowledge of the operation of this equipment.
• the SSAVI scrambling system provided by the present invention incorporates conventional SSAVI scrambling equipment that is already installed at a central office of a subscription or cable TV operation.
• This scrambling equipment typically has multiple operating modes, such as sync suppression or not, and video inversion or not, which the scrambling equipment randomly changes from mode to mode to enhance viewing security of the video signal.
• there are generated specially coded signals which are then transmitted along with the SSAVI scrambled TV picture and sync signals.
• the already installed SSAVI descrambling equipment ignores the added coded signals and is able to operate without change in a normal fashion as before.
• new SSAVI descrambling equipment provided in accordance with the present invention, recognizes the special coded signals and operates to fully descramble the TV signals even though they had been scrambled with otherwise incompatible equipment at the central office.
• the special coded signals provided by the present invention comprise a first signal, termed a "flag" signal, and a separate “flag state” signal.
• the "flag” signal is inserted, by way of example, into the video picture portion of a first active horizontal line of each field of a frame of video pictures.
• the first active horizontal line and the last active horizontal line of each field of a TV picture are normally not viewable on a standard TV receiver and so the "flag" signal, though in fact present in the TV picture itself, is never visually obtrusive.
• the "flag" signal is inserted into the TV picture before it is scrambled at the central office.
• the "flag" signal is utilized in new descrambling equipment provided by the invention to help determine field-by-field, frame-by-frame whether the picture portion of the video signal has been scrambled (inverted in polarity) at the central office, and then to descramble the video signal accordingly.
• horizontal line sync pulses of the video signals have been suppressed in amplitude at the central office as part of overall scrambling of the video signals, this condition is easily recognized at each subscriber location.
• the sync pulses, whether suppressed or not are always in accordance with a predetermined timing pattern set by an industry standard, such as that established by the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) , and suppressed amplitude sync pulses are instantly evident.
• NTSC National Television Standards Committee
• the "flag state” signal is a binary “1” when the "flag” signal originally is a binary “1”, and is a binary "0” when the "flag” signal originally is a binary "0".
• the "flag state” signal is transmitted with the video signal as encrypted data and is never inverted in the transmission.
• the "flag state” data signal (either a "1” or a “0") therefore is received and decoded at subscriber locations in the same phase ("1” or "0") as at the central office before and after the video signals are scrambled.
• the "flag" signal on the other hand, which is inserted at the central office into a picture portion of a line of the video signal before it is scrambled (inverted) , may be received at a subscriber location either in-phase or out- of-phase with the "flag state” signal depending on whether the picture portion of the video lines of a particular field of the TV picture have been scrambled (inverted) or not.
• By separately detecting the "flag” and the "flag state” signals as received at a subscriber location, and then logically comparing the phases of the two signals it is immediately known field-by-field and frame-by-frame whether the picture portion of the video signal has been scrambled (inverted) or not.
• circuitry in a descrambling receiver provided by the invention fully restores a video picture to its original not scrambled condition.
• the present invention is directed to a video signal scrambling and descrambling system.
• the system comprises video input means, scrambling means, signaling means, transmission means, and descrambling means.
• the video input means supplies video signals to be transmitted from a central office to a plurality of subscriber locations.
• the scrambling means is located at the central office and scrambles video signals according to predetermined modes of scrambling and descrambling.
• the signaling means generates coded indicator signals and inserts same into selected portions of the video signals from the video input means and applies the video signals with inserted indicator signals to the scrambling means.
• the transmission means transmits video and indicator signals from the scrambling means at the central office to the subscriber locations.
• the descrambling means which is located at a subscriber location and is coupled to the transmission means, detects and decodes the coded indicator signals in the video signals, and under control of decoded indicator signals, descrambles the video signals independently of, and without regard to, the predetermined modes of descrambling and supplies descrambled video signals such that the descrambling means is compatible within the system.
• the present invention is directed to a method of scrambling and descrambling video signals in a TV system having a central office and a plurality of receiving locations.
• the method comprises the steps of: providing video signals to be scrambled at the central office; generating coded indicator signals; inserting the indicator signals into selected lines of the video signals before scrambling; scrambling, in accordance with predetermined modes of scrambling and descrambling, the video signals with indicator signals inserted; transmitting the scrambled video signals to a plurality of locations; and descrambling the video signals received at a first location by detecting and decoding the indicator signals to continuously determine whether the video signals have been scrambled or not and using that determination to descramble the video signals independently of the predetermined modes of scrambling and descrambling such that full compatibility in descrambling at different locations with one or more modes of descrambling is provided within the system.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a subscription television picture scrambling and descrambling system in accordance with the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of TV video signals provided in accordance with a NTSC standard
• FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a waveform of one horizontal line of a not scrambled video signal such as illustrated in FIG. 2;
• FIG. 4 shows the video signal waveform of FIG. 3 with the picture or active video portion replaced by a "flag” signal of 100 IRE units as shown in solid line, or by a “flag” signal of "0" IRE units as shown in dashed line;
• FIG. 5 shows the waveform of FIG. 4 after sync suppression and upward shifting of a horizontal blanking interval (HBI) of the video signal by 70 IRE units, the "flag” signal which previously was 100 IRE units being shown in solid line and the "flag” signal which previously was 0 IRE units being shown in dashed line;
• HBI horizontal blanking interval
• FIG. 6 shows the waveform of FIG. 5 after the active line or picture portion has been scrambled and the "flag" signal inverted, the "flag” signal which previously was 100 IRE units being shown in solid line, and the "flag” signal which previously was 0 IRE units being shown in dashed line;
• FIG. 7 shows a waveform of a line of video signal, such as in FIG. 5 or 6, as received at a subscriber location;
• FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 taken together show time relationships of a waveform of a line of video signal (FIG. 8), a “sample and hold” pulse (FIG. 9), and a “gate” pulse (FIG. 10) .
• FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 taken together show time relationships of a waveform of a line of video signal (FIG. 8), a “sample and hold” pulse (FIG. 9), and a “gate” pulse (FIG. 10) .
• FIG. 1 there is shown in schematic block form a TV video signal scrambling and descrambling system 10 in accordance with the present invention.
• the system 10 is employed, by way of example, in a cable TV operation having a central office and a number of subscriber locations, only one new subscriber location and only one old subscriber location are shown for the sake of simplicity. All of the subscriber locations are typically connected to the central office by a coaxial cable or cables.
• the equipment 12 Located at the central office is electronic scrambling equipment 12 (shown within a large dashed-line rectangle) in accordance with one aspect of the invention.
• the equipment 12 comprises an input 14 for a standard video signal, a "flag" inserter 16, a conventional SSAVI (sync suppression and video inversion) scrambler 18, and a conventional modulator transmitter 20.
• a video signal descrambling receiver 22 Installed at a new subscriber location as part of the overall system 10 is a video signal descrambling receiver 22 (shown within a large dashed-line rectangle) in accordance with another aspect of the invention.
• the receiver 22 comprises a tuner 24, a demodulator 26, a sync recovery unit 28, a sample and hold (S/H) unit 30, a timing unit 32, a "flag state” data receiver 34, a video signal re-inverter unit 36 (shown within a dashed-line rectangle), a comparator 38, an "exclusive-or” logic gate 40, an AND gate 42, and a modulator 44.
• a conventional descrambling receiver 46 Installed at an old subscriber location is a conventional descrambling receiver 46 operating with full compatibility within the scrambling and descrambling system 10 provided by the invention.
• the receiver 46 may be identical to a "decoder"
• the "flag” inserter 16 internally generates a “flag” or indicator signal and inserts it, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, into a particular active line of the video signal.
• An output video signal with "flag” signal of flag inserter 16 is applied via a lead 52 to an input of the SSAVI scrambler 18.
• a SSAVI scrambled video output signal is applied by the scrambler 18 via a lead 54 to an input of the modulator transmitter 20 whose output is applied to a transmission cable 55 having a TV signal path 56 (i.e., a separate transmission frequency) within the cable. It is to be understood that there are as many signal paths like the path 56 within the cable as there are TV channels being broadcast by the cable TV operation to the subscriber locations.
• the "flag” inserter 16 also internally generates a "flag state” signal, which, by way of example, is a binary “1” when the "flag” signal is equivalent to a binary "1”, and is a binary "0” when the "flag” signal is equivalent to a binary "0".
• a "flag state” signal which, by way of example, is a binary “1” when the "flag” signal is equivalent to a binary "1”, and is a binary "0" when the "flag” signal is equivalent to a binary "0".
• the "flag” and the "flag state” signals are generated together and are randomly varied in-phase with each other.
• the "flag” inserter 16 in accordance with another aspect of the invention, encrypts the "flag state” signal, whether a "1" or a "0", as a multi- igit highly secure binary code, and applies the coded signals as encrypted "flag state” data to a signal path 58 of the cable 55.
• This path 58 is shown, by way of illustration here, as being separate from the video signal path 56. But it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, that the signal path 58 for the "flag state” data can easily be made a part of the video signal path 56.
• FIG. 2 there is shown somewhat schematically and not necessarily to scale, and by way of background explanation, television signals indicated at 60 which are in accordance with the NTSC standard.
• television signals indicated at 60 which are in accordance with the NTSC standard.
• Time is shown along a horizontal axis and relative signal amplitude in IRE units is along a vertical axis.
• the signals 60 are displayed sequentially line-by-line as an "odd” field indicated at 61, an "even” field indicated at 62, and an "odd” field at 61, and so on. It is noted that only the beginning and ending portions of the "odd” and "even” fields are shown here.
• each "vertical blanking" interval 63 or 64 twenty horizontal lines “H” (20H) of the video portion of the signal 60 are blanked out. This provides time for vertical retrace from the end of one field to the beginning of the next, and so on. There are “262 1/2" horizontal lines H in each of the fields 61 and 62 for a total of "525" lines in a vertical frame of two fields of the television picture. The frames are repeated 30 times a second, with the two fields thereof repeated at 60 times per second.
• Each "even” field ends in a full line, as indicated at 74, and then another "vertical blanking" interval 64 begins.
• the time duration of a full line H is termed “one line time”.
• Each line H is initiated by a horizontal line blanking interval (HBI) including a sync pulse 78 having a very short "sync interval”. It is to be noted that the horizontal line sync pulses 78 for each "odd” field are offset by a half line-time with respect to the line sync pulses 78 for an "even" field.
• HBI horizontal line blanking interval
• an "odd" field 61 ends with a half-line as indicated at 68 and an "even” field 62 begins with a half-line as indicated at 71, and so on.
• a video signal such as illustrated in FIG. 2 is applied to the video input 14 of the scrambling equipment 12 (FIG. 1) .
• FIG. 3 there is shown enlarged and not exactly to scale, a waveform 80 of a full line "H" of a video signal such as shown for example at 66 or 72 in FIG. 2.
• Signal amplitude in FIG. 3 is shown vertically in standard IRE units from -40 to 100, a range representing a 1 volt peak-to-peak signal, with "0" IRE being the blanking level, as is well known in the art.
• a horizontal blanking interval (HBI) is as indicated.
• the waveform 80 has a standard horizontal blanking and sync pulse 82 (like a pulse 78 in FIG. 2) , with a standard
• color burst 84
• active video picture portion 86 all of which are well known in the art.
• FIG. 4 there is shown a waveform 90 which is similar to the waveform 80 of FIG. 3, but with the active video picture 86 portion replaced by a "flag" signal 92 (shown in solid line) having an amplitude of 100 IRE units.
• This "flag" signal 92 is equivalent to a binary "1".
• the waveform 90 with its “flag” signal 92 (not yet scrambled) is applied via the lead 52 (FIG. 1) to the SSAVI scrambler 18.
• a "flag” signal 96 shown by a dashed line
• which is the equivalent to a binary "0” when inserted into the waveform 90, lies along the "0" IRE level.
• a binary "1" flag 92 (solid line) is not present when a binary "0" flag 96 (dashed line) is present, and vice versa.
• the "flag” signal is randomly varied between a “1” and “0” by the "flag” inserter 16 to make the presence and identity of a "flag" 13
• a "flag" signal equivalent to either a binary “l” or a binary “0” is inserted, in accordance with the present invention, in a line of active video signal which is subject to being inverted in the SSAVI scrambler 18. (FIG. 1).
• a "flag” signal is advantageously inserted in the first video line subject to inversion by the SSAVI scrambler of each field, for example the twenty-fourth line. As mentioned previously, these lines are not normally displayed on the screen of a standard TV receiver.
• FIG. 5 there is shown a waveform 100 which has been subjected to sync suppression but not video inversion (such as appears on the lead 54 of FIG. 1) .
• the horizontal blanking interval (HBI) of the waveform 100 has in effect been offset upward by 70 IRE units so that the lower tip of the sync pulse 82 now has a level of 30 IRE (compare with waveform 90 of FIG. 4) .
• the "flag" signal 92 (a "1") has a level of 100 and the "flag” signal 96 (a "0”) has a "0" IRE level. Neither "flag” has been inverted.
• FIG. 6 there is shown a waveform 102 (such as also appears on the lead 54 of FIG. 1) in which the "flag" signal of FIG. 5 is inverted (and the HBI shifted) .
• the "flag” signal 92 solid line
• the "flag” signal 96 dashed line
• One or the other of the "flags” 92 or 96 is present in the waveform 102.
• FIG. 7 there is shown a video waveform 110 (similar to the waveform 100 or the waveform 102) as received over the signal path 56 at a subscriber location (FIG. 1) .
• the waveform 110 has a "flag" signal 112 shown in solid line with a 100 IRE level.
• the waveform has a "flag” signal 114, shown in dashed line with a "0" IRE level.
• the waveform 110 has its sync portion (occurring during HBI) suppressed.
• the electronic descrambling equipment 22 receives over the TV cable 55 video signals via the signal path 56, and receives "flag state" signals as encrypted data on the signal path 58.
• the video signal may be sync suppressed with the picture portion inverted or not as illustrated by the waveform 110 (FIG. 7) .
• the sync level will be as shown in FIG. 4.
• the video signals on signal path 56 are applied to an input of the tuner 24 (which is well known in the art) , which selects any one of the TV channels being broadcast and then applies via a lead 120 the video signal of a selected channel to the demodulator 26 (which is also well known) .
• the demodulator 26 applies from an output thereof a demodulated video signal of a selected TV channel via a common lead 122 to an input of the sync recovery unit 28, to the sample and hold (S/H) unit 30, and to the timing unit 32.
• Each of units 28, 30 and 32 can be comprised of circuitry and modes of operation well known in the art.
• the sync recovery unit 28 recognizes those portions of the video signal where the horizontal sync pulses have been suppressed, such as illustrated in the waveform 110 (FIG. 7) , and automatically restores these pulses to their normal levels, such as illustrated by the waveform 90 (FIG. 4) .
• An output of the sync recovery unit 28 is applied to a lead 124 and is a video signal (such as illustrated in FIG. 2) with standard sync levels restored but where the picture portion of active lines of a field may or may not have been inverted as part of being scrambled.
• the circuitry and mode of operation of the sync recovery unit 28 are well known in the art.
• Video signals from the demodulator 26 are also applied via the lead 122 to inputs of the sample and hold (S/H) unit 30 and the timing unit 32.
• the timing unit 32 in response to these video signals, generates at precise times occurring within the video signals a "sample and hold" pulse 130 (FIG. 9) and a "gate” pulse 131 (FIG. 10).
• the timing unit 32 applies the first pulse 130 via a lead 132 to another input of the S/H unit 30 and applies the second pulse 131 via a lead 133 to a "B" input of the AND gate 42.
• the pulse 130 enables the S/H unit 30 to then determine whether a "flag" signal, such as shown in FIG. 7, has a level of 100 IRE or "0" IRE, as will be explained shortly.
• the circuitry and modes of operation of the S/H unit 30 and the timing unit 32 are well known in the art.
• FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 there are shown the time relationship of a "sample and hold” pulse 130 (FIG. 9), and of a “gate” pulse 131 (FIG. 10) with respect to a waveform 134 (FIG. 8) .
• the waveform 134 (FIG. 8)
• the "gate" pulse 131 has a “0" binary level, and a binary “0” is applied via the lead 133 to the B input of the AND gate 42. At other times when no pulse 131 is present, a binary "1" is maintained on the lead 133.
• the output of the S/H unit 30 of the descrambling equipment 22 has a signal level of 100 IRE when the "flag" signal being sampled during the pulse 130 (FIGS. 8 and 9) has a level of 100
• a "B” input of the gate 40 is connected via a lead 142 to an output of the data receiver 34.
• the receiver 34 decodes the "flag state” data applied to an input thereof from the signal path 58 and applies at the output thereof and on the lead 142 a binary level ("1" or “0") corresponding in phase with the "flag state” signal originally generated by the "flag” inserter 16.
• An output of the "exclusive-or” gate 40 (either a binary "1” or "0") is applied via a lead 144 to an "A” input of the AND gate 42.
• An output of the AND gate 42 is applied via a lead 145 to the video signal re-inverter unit 36, which is well known in the art and is schematically shown here.
• Video signals on the lead 124 are applied to inputs of a non-inverting (+) amplifier 146 and an inverting (-) amplifier 148 of the unit 36. Outputs of amplifiers 146 and 148 are applied respectively by a lead 150 and a lead 152 to a reversing switch 154 (shown schematically within a dashed line rectangle) .
• the switch 154 has a contact arm 156 which is permanently connected to a center terminal 158 and is selectively connected to an upper terminal 160 connected to the lead 150 or to a lower terminal 162 connected to the lead 152. As shown, arm 156 is connected to terminal 160.
• the switch 154 is electronically controlled by binary signals applied via the lead 145 to the unit 36.
• the switch arm 156 When a binary "0" is applied to the lead 145, the switch arm 156 is actuated to the upper position (that shown) to connect the output of the non-inverting (+) amplifier 146 via the lead 150 and the terminal 160 to the output terminal 158. When a binary "1" is applied to the lead 145, the switch arm 156 is actuated to its lower position to connect the output of the inverting (-) amplifier 148 via the lead 152 and the lower terminal 162 to the output terminal 158.
• the output terminal 158 of the switch 154 is connected via a lead 164 to an input of the modulator 44 whose output is applied via a lead 166 to a standard TV receiver (not shown) .
• the switch 154 is logically controlled so that the HBI portion of a line of the video signal (FIG. 8) is never inverted. In other words, the switch 154 always selects the non-inverting (+) amplifier 146 during the HBI portion of the video signal.
• the video signals on the lead 124 are passed without being inverted through the non-inverting (+) amplifier 146 of the unit 36 through the switch 156 to the modulator 44.
• the modulator 44 then applies the fully descrambled video signals in standard TV broadcast format to a TV receiver, as indicated. Conversely, when the binary levels at the "A" and
• the descrambling receiver 46 (described previously) is shown as part of the overall scrambling and descrambling system 10 to illustrate the full compatibility of old and new descrambling equipment within the system 10.
• the receiver 46 does not utilize the "flag" and "flag state” signals provided in accordance with an aspect of the present invention and instead functions according to the predetermined modes of operation established by the SSAVI scrambler 18 to fully descramble the video signals applied to it via the signal path 56. Descrambled TV pictures are then applied by the receiver 46 to a TV receiver, as indicated.
• the invention is not limited to use only with the particular SSAVI scrambler and descrambler which are disclosed. Moreover, transmission media other than a TV cable may be used, and TV signals other than in NTSC format may be employed. Still further, the special coded signals provided by an aspect of the invention are not restricted to the IRE levels shown, and encoding and decoding of the signals may be accomplished differently from the way given above. Furthermore, cable 55 can be replaced by wireless communication means.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)

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• 1994
  • 1994-07-27 US US08/281,415 patent/US5539823A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1995
  • 1995-07-25 WO PCT/US1995/010004 patent/WO1996003838A1/en active Application Filing
  • 1995-07-25 AU AU32773/95A patent/AU3277395A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1995-07-26 CO CO95033141A patent/CO4370139A1/es unknown

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